SWEDISH infrastructure manager Trafikverket has awarded Strukton Rail two five-year contracts to maintain track, signalling, and electrification on lines in central Stockholm.

THE European Commission (EC) has allocated €1.6m through its Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) programme to fund the commercialisation of Neoballast, a new form of railway ballast which uses a recycled rubber-based coating to extend the lifespan of ballasted track while reducing noise and vibration.

CROSSRAIL has awarded Linsinger, Austria, a contract worth around £12m to supply an MG31 rail milling train for the Elizabeth Line east-west link across central London.

EVRAZ has reported a 12.5% increase in the sale of railway products including rails from 362,000 tonnes in the last quarter of 2015 to 408,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2016, and a 2% increase in tonnage between the first quarters of 2015 and 2016.

Effective rail lubrication strategies play an important role in optimising wheel and rail life, but developments in rail and rolling stock technology in recent decades have shifted the goalposts for friction management. Barnaby Temple, head of technology with LB Foster Rail Technologies, explains how research into the issue in Britain is redefining top-of-rail friction management.

IRJ at Infrarail, London: Max Bögl, Germany, and Tarmac, Britain, have formed a joint venture to market Max Bögl's FFB slab track system in Britain.

SAN FRANCISCO Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) has awarded Mermec, Italy, a contract to supply a self-propelled track recording and inspection vehicle to monitor infrastructure on its 167km network.

THE Dutch government is planning to bring Prorail under direct control of the Ministry of Infrastructure and end the infrastructure manager's current status as an independent (albeit state-owned) company operating under private law, according to draft ministry policy papers which have been leaked to the Dutch media.

TATA Steel UK has signed a deal to sell for a nominal consideration its Long Products Europe business, which includes the manufacture of rails at mills in Britain and France, to Greybull Capital, a family investment concern.

THE Shift²Rail Joint Undertaking (JU) has received 43 proposals with total requested funding of €80m for its first call for 15 topics for which only €26.1m is available, while the 27 Shift²Rail members have requested €63m for their 13 reserved topics to which they will contribute €80m.